Faculty Spotlight: Sciences dean George Perry is among world's top 10 Alzheimer's researchers

(March 26, 2009)--George Perry, dean of the UTSA College of Sciences and professor of biology, has been named one of the world's top 10 Alzheimer's disease researchers, according to a study conducted by Collexis Holdings Inc. and published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. The Top 100 list was released in the journal's March online edition (Volume 16, Issue 3).

Article tools

Perry is the only Alzheimer's disease researcher based in Texas who made the exclusive Top 100 list.

"Alzheimer's research has really evolved in the last 10 years and has garnered special attention from the Obama administration," said Perry. "The administration has indicated advancements in Alzheimer's research are of significant importance on a level with the Human Genome Project conducted in the Clinton years."

The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, published by Netherlands-based IOS Press, is an international multidisciplinary journal, which helps researchers understand the etiology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, genetics, behavior, treatment and psychology of Alzheimer's disease. The journal publishes research reports, reviews, short communications, book reviews and letters to the editor. Past discussions have focused on the mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease, therapeutic targets and clinical trial outcomes.

According to IOS Press, the field of Alzheimer's disease research, which began in 1906, has progressed rapidly since the 1970s. Of the 135,000 actively publishing neuroscience researchers across the world, approximately 18 percent are involved in Alzheimer’s disease research.

Switzerland-based Collexis Holdings Inc. conducted the study and focused on three areas of measurement: total citations, total publications and H-index. The H-index, a statistic named after physicist Jorge Hirsch, is a quantifiable measurement of a scientist's or group's productivity and the impact of that research. The Collexis study is the first objective analysis of Alzheimer's disease research through scientometrics, a field of study that measures scientific impact using a variety of measurement tools.

The press release issued by IOS indicates the study relies on more than bibliometrics, methods to study published materials, taking into account prestigious Alzheimer's disease research awards, membership in the National Academies of Sciences' Institute of Medicine and consideration of Alzheimer's research collaborators.

Notably, the study's analysis of Perry's work revealed:

Perry published 66 papers with at least 66 citations each (H-index score: 66)

He was cited at least 24 times by 24 people (scientific following score: 24)

He would be likely to move up three spots in a future analysis, when his productivity was compared to that of those also on the list.

Perry joined UTSA in 2006 from Case Western Reserve University, where he was a professor of pathology and neurosciences and the chair of the Case Western Reserve Department of Pathology. A prolific researcher, Perry is the second-most published Alzheimer's disease researcher with 516 publications to his credit. He is the 16th most cited Alzheimer's disease researcher; his work has been cited more than 16,000 times.

Perry is an active scholar in the Alzheimer's research community. He serves as president of the American Association of Neuropathologists and is on the editorial boards of more than 60 journals including the American Journal of Pathology and the Journal of Biological Chemistry. He also is co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.